Summary of TIGRs, CATS, and LIONs

TIGRs, CATS, LIONs, and the rest of the menagerie of proprietary names that came out of the mid-1980s were zero coupon bonds based on the interest of US Treasury securities. Brokerage firms held the Treasury bonds in escrow and issued new bonds based on their interest payments in a process known as coupon stripping. Though they are no longer issued and are no longer traded on the secondary market, they were prized for their low risk and potential for reliable returns.